


The MothJon Prophecies

by purrpurrpurrcat



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Paranormal Investigators, F/M, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Monster Jon - Freeform, Moth!Jon, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build, Slow Burn, i like to take things nice and easy, so jon will appear in a chapter or two, the og archives team as Buzzfeed Unsolved
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:08:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24314800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purrpurrpurrcat/pseuds/purrpurrpurrcat
Summary: The team--calling themselves WebClick’s Unresolved--had finished wrapping up production for their episode on the haunting of Fort Pickens in Pensacola, when the new Mothman sighting happened. Their next episode was supposed to have been researching a supposed chupacabra sighting down on Miami (“Isn’t the chupacabra from Puerto Rico?” asked Martin, reading the article that Sasha had sent him on the sighting. Sasha shrugged, “I dunno, maybe he’s here on vacation, visiting family and such”) supposed being the keyword here.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Sasha James/Tim Stoker
Comments: 11
Kudos: 83





	The MothJon Prophecies

**Author's Note:**

> i have commitment issues, but i'll do my best to update each friday. in the meantime, you can go over and bug me (haha, get it?) on my tumblr, purrpurrpurrcat!

“So, we’re on our way to Point Pleasant, West Virginia, home of the Mothman…”

The car ride to Point Pleasant had been a less-than-pleasant one, truth be told. The thing about America was that it was big--ridiculously big. So big, in fact, that maybe the word “big” didn’t even come close to conveying the sheer magnitude of this giant piece of dirt that calls itself the United States of America. For a brit like him, Martin thought that a trip from London to Manchester was long, a trip that he rarely took in the first place, but he was fishing for examples here. Two and a half hours cramped in a car, following the M40 upwards. If you were lucky, then you’d have agreeable weather and sometimes you might even see some scenic landscape out of the motorway. However, Martin didn’t consider himself to be that lucky, as the few times he’s had to take a car ride to Manchester it was under heavy, unrelenting rain, making everything look wet, cold, grey and miserable. So, two and a half hours cramped in a car with the most miserable landscape around you. That was more than enough for Martin.

So try travelling from Pensacola, Florida, to Point Pleasant in West Virginia. They had been on the road for around ten hours now--and there were around three more hours left to go, due to the various rest stops they’d had to make along the way (“Well, if _someone_ didn’t have such a tiny bladder-”, “Shut up, Tim! You know I have to keep well hydrated!” Sasha said, a light embarrassed flush dusting her cheeks). Gone were the sandy beaches of Pensacola, and in were the gloomy forests of West Virginia. That was another thing that baffled Martin--the drastic changes in ecosystems. Which, well, it’s to be expected in such a large landmass, but to actually experience it was a whole other thing. 

The team--calling themselves WebClick’s _Unresolved_ \--had finished wrapping up production for their episode on the haunting of Fort Pickens in Pensacola, when the new Mothman sighting happened. Their next episode was supposed to have been researching a supposed chupacabra sighting down on Miami (“Isn’t the chupacabra from Puerto Rico?” asked Martin, reading the article that Sasha had sent him on the sighting. Sasha shrugged, “I dunno, maybe he’s here on vacation, visiting family and such.”) supposed being the keyword here. This mothman sighting stirred up not only the local press, but social media too, and news of the sighting quickly spread throughout the nation. _Mothman Spotted on Silver Memorial Bridge--Hoax or Warning?_ and other similar headlines covered the pages of popular websites like Buzzfeed and Cracked. And, of course, WebClick wasn’t about to be behind on this new fad. So out the window went the chupacabra episode. 

“I think y’all will like this town,” Said Sasha, looking at the camera Martin was holding up on the backseat. They’d just passed the _Welcome to West Virginia, Wild and Wonderful!_ sign, and obviously Martin had to get that on camera. Maybe make a lil intro montage of them three arriving at West Virginia and doing… whatever it is the west virginians did, to the tune of John Denver’s _Country Roads, Take Me Home_. 

“Y’know, I’ve never been to West Virginia, but it kinda feels like coming back home after listening to country roads, right?” Piped up Tim, drumming an invisible beat on the driving wheel of the van. Sasha snorted, and looked at Tim, an amused smile on her face.

“What? It’s true! _Country roads, take me home_ ,” Tim’s smooth baritone filled the air as he broke out into song. Sasha rolled her eyes, but followed along regardless.

“ _To the place, I belong_ ,” She sang, holding her hands to her chest in a very dramatic manner.

“Martin, take it away!” Tim grinned into the rearview mirror. Martin sighed, a smile coming to his face as he directed the camera a bit to the side so it didn’t pick up his voice being so close.

“ _West Virginia, mountain mama_ ,” Martin sang, trying to keep a laugh out of his voice but failing a bit. The three of them joined together for the last part of the chorus, 

“ _Take me home, country roads._ ”

There was a beat, before they dissolved into a small fit of laughter. Sasha grabbed the aux cord and plugged it into her phone, before browsing Spotify for any “west virginia” playlist to set the mood. Once she found it, she pressed play and placed her phone back on the cupholder. The cheery, but sometimes melancholic tunes of country songs filled the cabin. None of them could actually recognize any other song besides "Country Roads" and “Jolene” but it didn’t matter, the songs felt right for the mood. 

“But anyways, as I had been saying, I think y’all will like it here. It’s one of those towns that kinda picked up the whole ‘town cryptid’ thing,” Said Sasha, taking out a few brochures from the dashboard compartment. She held one out to the camera. _The world’s only MOTHMAN Museum!_ it said in bright, orange letters. There was a cartoon of the mothman right next to it, it’s beady red eyes staring ominously onwards. Sasha shook open the brochure so Martin could take a shaky, video recording of it. They’ll do a proper one on the motel later on, this one was for the “they’re arriving at the place” montage at the beginning of the video.

“‘Town cryptid’ thing… Like Roswell? Man, we have to go there after this one,” Said Tim.

“Isn’t Roswell on, like, the other side of the continent?” Asked Martin, looking worriedly at Sasha. Sasha looked up from the brochure at Martin.

“Maybe we can make a few stops along the way to film some episodes, so it’s not a whole, uh… 24 hour car ride? Huh, the Rosswell stop could even be the season two finale! How’s that sound?” Said Sasha, looking back at Tim.

“We’re on episode two and you’re already thinking of the finale?” Asked Tim incredulously, as he switched lanes. 

“It’s always good to be organized! I think Roswell as the season finale would work great,” Said Sasha as she leaned back over her seat to look at Martin.

“Well, as long as we stop on the way to film episodes. These car rides are too long, Sasha!” Exclaimed Martin, setting down the camera. 

“Don’t worry, we’re almost there anyways. Never been on a 10+ hour car ride before?” Asked Sasha, with a bit of pity.

“No! No I hadn’t!” Exclaimed Martin. 

“C’mon, we had fun. The beginning concert was great!” Said Sasha.

“Well yeah but the longest I had been in a car before this was… what? Going to Manchester, I think,” Said Martin. 

“Pfft, imagine thinking that’s long,” Tim chuckled.

“It _is_ long!” Interjected Martin.

“I mean, I think it depends on the person you ask,” Said Sasha.

“And you’re asking _me_ ,” Pointed out Martin. Sasha opened her mouth, before she closed it.

“Touché, Mr. Blackwood,” Sasha said, “So, Point Pleasant--”

“Wait, let me pick up the camera,” Martin picked back up the camera, and turned it back on. It was a small, handheld one. The actual video equipment was at the back, packed away with the more professional paranormal investigation equipment. It was too big to really be handled well in such a cramped area. Martin gave Sasha a thumbs up once the camera started recording.

“So, Point Pleasant, West Virginia-- a small Appalachian town in Southern USA, with a rather big history in terms of famous cryptids. It’s the home of the mothman, a creature that seems to be either the herald of bad times to come, or the cause of them. The story dates back to November 15th, 1966, where two couples first saw mothman out in the woods of the McClintic Wildlife Management Area--a wildlife reserve. They described him as a headless creature, with glowing, red eyes on the torso, and massive wings folded at the back,” Said Sasha, before making a ‘cut’ motion with her hand. 

“Something I never understood was why is this place considered ‘Southern’ USA,” Tim said questioningly, “like, imagine a line dividing the USA in two. North and south. West Virginia clearly falls on the northern side, right?” 

“Yeah I also found it weird, but hey, that’s what the history sites said,” Said Sasha.

“Well, it probably has something to do with their civil war then. Y’know, the North vs. the South?” Said Martin, placing the camera back down. 

“Huh, that seems likely, Martin--oh, look! We’re here!” Sasha quickly rolled down the window, and stuck her head out of the car. Tim let out a loud laugh at her enthusiasm. 

The Silver Memorial Bridge was situated about a mile south of the original Silver Bridge. It spanned over the Ohio river, and carried the US 35 motorway. Underneath the bridge, a small carrier boat was passing by towards the South, following the river. It was empty of containers, but there were a few sailors above deck. They seemed so small due to the distance, like ants. On the bridge itself, traffic didn’t seem particularly heavy, as it was just two in the afternoon. A few cars, and a truck carrying something on its open end that seemed a little bit familiar. 

“Hey, is that--”

“Mothman!” Tim interrupted Sasha as he excitedly pointed a finger at one of the lorries. 

“Right! The Mothman Festival is in a week or so, so I’m guessing Point Pleasant is preparing itself for it,” Said Sasha, lightly hitting her forehead with the butt of her palm as she looked down at one of the brochures she had gotten.

“A festival? Man, these people really like that guy. Martin, I’m gonna get closer to that glorious thing, see if you can take a video of it,” Said Tim, before he swerved the van to the right. Sasha whooped in laughter as Tim accelerated the car a bit to catch up with the truck. Martin fumbled around for the camera, turning it on and rolling down his window to catch a better glimpse of the mothman statue that the truck was carrying.

The statue was a matte, black color, and was laying on its back, securely strapped to the truck bed by ropes. It seemed more like a giant action figure, one of the old ones from the 60s, by how the statue was positioned. It had a giant moth’s head, with crystal red eyes looking at the sky, situated on a neck that had what looked like feathers or ruffles coming out of it. Its wings looked more bat-like, however, as did its humanoid body. Its hands only had three fingers, and its feet only two toes. Martin zoomed the camera in on the statue, filming it from top to bottom before the truck decreased speed as they neared land. Satisfied with the footage, Martin turned off the camera and set it down.

“There, episode done, we saw the Mothman,” Said Tim, and Sasha playfully swatted his forearm.

“If we stay, we’ll hopefully see the real thing,” Said Sasha.

“Or cosplayers at the festival, which is the next best thing,” Supplied Tim.

“Wait, we’re staying for the festival?” Asked Martin, leaning forward a bit and resting his arms between Sasha and Tim’s seats at the front.

“Well duh. I think it’s important to capture the cultural aspect the cryptids have on their hometowns,” Said Sasha, before pointing at a sign on the road where the bridge met land, “see?”

 _Welcome to Point Pleasant, home of the Mothman!_ Was written on the sign, white on green. The town was small, with a population of about four thousand. It was situated on a large, spacious valley, surrounded by forests. The green scenery stretched over to the horizon. The town itself looked relatively normal, a little bit bland and nondescript. There weren’t many large buildings, the tallest one seemed to be an apartment complex of about four floors, right when one entered the town. A boxy architecture was prevalent in the town, painted in warmer tones like red and orange with a few blue buildings here and there. There was a boardwalk that ran along the river bank too. Martin was relieved at seeing a few chain stores he could recognize, fearing for a moment that Point Pleasant was so rural and removed from the rest of society that it didn’t even have a regular fast food around. Not that they were going to shop or eat at those, part of their work ethic when working on _Unresolved_ was to support local businesses.

What actually stood out from the town, however, was the activity and decoration. There was no doubt that the Mothman Festival was soon. In the boardwalk, there were various wooden stages being set up by construction workers, as well as tents that seemed to be for artisans to set up shops. Decorating the lamp posts of the boardwalk were various mothman ornaments, with beady red eyes that looked a bit hilariously eerie on the small mothmen. Noise of construction and the testing of musical equipment filled the air. There was even more activity near the center of the town too.

At the center of the town there was a small plaza, where _the_ Mothman statue was situated. Surrounding the plaza there were shops and restaurants all themed around the famous cryptid. The museum itself was just a block away, right in front of Lowe’s, which Martin found oddly humorous for some reason. However, the bustle of people was enough that the road around the plaza was temporarily closed. Tim huffed as he took a turn to the left.

“So, uh, where are we going to stay?” Asked Martin as they left behind the hubbub of the plaza.

“Oh, uh, WebClick cut our funding by quite a bit so we’ll be staying in the van for this one,” Said Tim as he stopped at an intersection.

“Wait, _what!?_ ” Exclaimed Martin, incredulously. They had too much equipment on them, turning the once-spacious van into the most cramped thing ever. Martin couldn’t even stretch his legs with the backseat all for himself, as he’d knock the camera tripods and the infrared camera over. He barely managed a 10+ hour car ride in this thing, he can’t imagine a whole week sleeping in it. Sasha caught the expression on his face, and she snorted, holding a hand to her mouth. She swatted Tim’s shoulder with the other one. 

“He’s joking, Martin. We’ll be staying at the Wing’s Embrace Inn--and before you ask, yes it’s obviously themed after Mothman,” Said Sasha, a grin on her face. Martin sighed in relief, the tension seeping out of his shoulders.

Martin zoomed in the camera on yet another mothman statue. This one was situated right in front of the inn, but seemed more imposing and threatening than welcoming. This one was also matte black, but the paint was chipped and weathered so one could see the concrete grey in some parts. It had no head, and its eyes were actually its… well, its nipples. Its eyes were its nipples and Martin zoomed the camera in on those. Up close, the nip-- _eyes_ seemed to be glassy? As if they were little LEDs that were currently turned off because it was daytime. One of its wings was extended, and right under it was the sign of the inn, saying just _Wing’s Embrace Inn_. Martin shook his head, turning off the camera and running back to the van to help the others unload their equipment and cases.

It felt like recording this episode would make for a long but exciting week.


End file.
